Moving Forward
by Snaileer
Summary: This is kind of a Shadam fic but also not. If Adam was still alive when Shiro and Voltron came back to Earth. Yet, so much has changed now and they're still fighting a war. Just how much has Earth changed in six years?
1. Chapter 1: Touching Base

**Adam POV**

_This is Commander Iverson. Initiate base defense protocol, Beta-Five._

_I repeat, initiate base defense protocol, Beta-Five_

"_You heard the man. We're up." _I was in first wave of Garrison fighters to be dispatched. This was my moment to shine, to help defend Earth from the Galra. My plane hit liftoff, and not long after, the Galra cruisers came into view. The target.

I fired the missiles supported by my team. Only to have to immediately dodge one of the ion cannon beams. These guys were not backing down, and they didn't even flinch at the missiles.

"_Our weapons have no effect!" _What seemed like a hundred more beams began to shoot out at us. How can we dodge all of them?! This wasn't going to work, we're outnumbered! Why haven't they called us back!

Boom.

"_Evasive maneuvers!"_

_Boom._

"_Wildcat's gone. Titan's not responding."_

_Boom._

_THEY HAVE TO CALL US BACK!_

"_I can't shake these things He's got me on target lock!"_

"_Hang in there! I'm heading your way." _I have to help her!

"_I can't - No!"_

_Boom._

"_Be aware, another Galra fleet is launching and approaching." We have to retreat! We have to go back!_

_Boom._

_There's only two of us, what are they thinking!_

"_I've got target lock!" Move! Move! "No!"_

_The shrapnel of her fighter hit my engines. No, no, no, come on! I'm the last one! Pull up! Pull up!_

_My plane continued to spiral downwards. I wasn't far enough to eject without getting caught in the chaos. _

"_I'm hit! The shrapnel has taken out my engines, please help! I'm in a freefall! "_

_Static hissed back. _

"_This is Adam West! Please, I've lost power! Please respond!"_

_Nothing!_

"_God*mnit, RESPOND!"_

Shiro stood behind Pidge's chair in the Green Lion, watching the stars rush past them.

They were finally going home.

He couldn't believe it. They were finally going back to Earth. They could finally end the war and stop fighting. He could finally stop fighting. It had seemed like a dream for so long now. When he was first captured by the Galra he had dreamed of escaping to Earth and fixing it with Adam. And then he had gotten swept up into a war he hadn't even known existed, against aliens he didn't actually think were real. He'd thought they'd been just an interesting tidbit in Matt's rambles or another weird thing in one of Keith's conspiracy theories.

But then he'd gotten Keith swept up in it, too. And Lance, and Pidge, and Hunk. None of them deserved to be out here, fighting for their lives every day, fighting for everyone else, too. It was too much to set on their shoulders, a burden that no child should ever have to see. It had been his fault that they were here.

If only he hadn't brought them along, they'd be safe. If he hadn't just rushed off in the Blue Lion without thinking, if he-

"It's one and a half Earth years!" Pidge's voice cut into his thoughts as she yelled at Hunk. Yikes, she was loud. "We've gone over this several times! Though there may be a margin of error of about a month, depending on any time dilation we encounter!"

And here's where he cuts in, "Look, we all knew this wasn't going to be an easy or quick voyage but replacing the Castle of Lions is our top priority." There, voice of reason to the rescue.

"We just have to stay sharp and maintain discipline. We knew when we started this journey that we'd be low on power. We didn't plan on going through the galactic void, but we'll get through it." Keith had really changed since Shiro had disappeared. Who knew he'd become so calm about things. He'd grown up to fast to still be just a kid.

"Don't worry, guys. We'll run into something eventually that will turn this trip around." And Lance, ever the optimist.

"What makes you so sure?" He wanted to tell Hunk that he didn't need to worry but honestly, he didn't think it'd make any difference. Worrying was just in Hunk's nature.

"If my experience in space has taught me anything," Lance starts, "it's that something always comes along to try to kill us." Maybe optimist was too strong a word.

To be fair, something did come along and try to kill them; but in doing so, had blasted them across space directly to the Milky Way. They were actually here. No tricks, or magic or lies. Just,

_Home_

Pidge began searching for a signal, looking for a response from Earth.

"_To any beings who receive this message_," That was Samuel! He was okay!

"Dad! You're okay! How's Mom and Matt? Is he with you?"

"_Planet Earth has been-" _Why wasn't he responding? "_Most of the citizens-" _No. _Wait_. Something's wrong. Something's _wrong_!

"Hold on let me try to get a clear signal." Shiro watched Pidge work on the holographic screen.

"_Have been captured_." No. No. _No_.

"What?" Pidge stopped, "Who's captured? Dad, what are you saying?" He watched the tears form in her eyes, we both knew what he was saying.

"_Those of us remaining are making our last stand. If you get this message, please get word to Voltron."_ It was a recording, not even meant directly for them.

"_We need help."_

"Guys, are you seeing this?" "Oh, no." "The Galra have invaded Earth." "It's not a reply. It's a distress signal."

"Dad."

Voltron was finally back on Earth. They were actually driving _to the Garrison right now_. Shiro had almost given up hope that he'd ever return.

He watched as Pidge jumped out of the car into her mother's arms the moment the rovers stopped.

"Mom!" He'd actually been able to get them all home. "Oh, Katie! I'm so glad you're home!"

"Lance!" "Uncle Lance!" "Hey!" Lance ran off towards a whole crowd of people, getting tackled by two along the way. He was surrounded by people, family, until Shiro couldn't even spot the white of paladin armor under all the hugs.

He turned to help the Alteans out of the rover.

"Officer Shirogane." Oh crap. Commander Iverson, he'd know that mispronunciation of his name anywhere. Shiro turned around to meet his eyes- eye, "It's great to see you again. My apologies for throwing you in quarantine." He'd almost forgotten that had been Iverson, with the Blue Lion being discovered it'd mostly been swept under the rug.

"Ah, so your the one who strapped Shiro to a table." Or not, apparently, "I heard about that." Coran narrowed his eyes at the commander.

"You were just following orders, as any good soldier would. It's great to see you, too." Coran looked like he was about to protest but Shiro plowed on, "Allow me to introduce you to our Altean allies."

"Meet Princess* Allura, Romelle," he paused, "and Coran." Coran still didn't seem all too happy with the commander but had settled for channeling his irritation into twirling his mustache.

"The honor is mine. Your technology has been instrumental in defending this small corner of Earth."

"Oh, yes. Pop-Pop was quite the genius."

"And Cadet…" See, now they were going to have a problem if Iverson thought was going to say _anything_ to Keith. "Yes, sir."

"I owe you an apology as well." Oh, well that was new. Good, meant he would have to fight for Keith to be able to stay like last time. He and Adam had both done everything they could-.

_Adam._

_Where was he?_

Shiro scanned the small crowd around the courtyard for the familiar face. He had to be here. If not then..

"If you touch it, it could zap you to a different universe. Seriously."

"Excuse me, Commander Iverson. Do you know where Adam West is?" He didn't care if he had interrupted his conversation, he had to know.

"Mmm. Adam. Yeah, come with me." Iverson began walking towards the building, Shiro rushed after him.

They walked down several hallways and Shiro relished in the familiarity of everything, very few things had changed. The halls were the same, same offices and rooms and classes and-.

"In there." Commander Iverson jammed a thumb over his shoulder at a large room. Shiro read the title, cold fear gripping at his insides.

_First Wave Memorial_

_No._

_No._

_No. No._

Shiro nearly ran through the door, his eyes scanning for -.

"Shiro?"

Shiro stopped in his tracks, staring at the person in front of him.

Adam stood there, in front of the memorial, his hand still resting on the names. But he was here.

"Adam?"

* * *

*** That little star is there because in the show, they just introduced her as Allura and I have a big hecking problem with that because she is a princess mother trucker, she is to be addressed as such. **

**I just have a big pet peeve with people not using the correct titles and not addressing people correctly. It's also why I insist on calling him Commander Iverson because no matter how much of a d*ck he is, he earned that rank and should be addressed as such.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Passing of Time

_Shiro stopped in his tracks, staring at the person in front of him. _

_Adam stood there, in front of the memorial, his hand still resting on the names. But he was here._

"_Adam?"_

Adam looked at Shiro at the use of his name, sadness painted on his face as he turned from the memorial.

"Takashi?" His face hardened slightly, erasing the initial surprise of seeing him again.

"Adam, I-" Shiro's voice broke, he hadn't ever thought he'd actually make it to this point. He'd spend years imprisoned under Galran rule and then spent so long fighting against them. And when he'd been thrust into the abyss of the Black Lion's astral plane he thought he'd lose himself to the emptiness. "I don't know what to say, Adam. I haven't-"

"Then don't, Shiro. It's nice to see you again." Adam began walking towards him, "Even if you still have the world's worst timing." Adam slapped his hand on Shiro's shoulder in some sort of reassurance before he walked past him.

He did a small casual salute to Commander Iverson in the doorway as he slipped past, "Commander, sir."

Shiro whipped around to stare at his back as he left. Everything was so different from when he'd left. _Adam_ was so different; there was no love in his eyes, they were so closed off. Not empty but new and unknown. When they had been together, they could understand each other in a single glance and yet he felt like something had been broken.

Iverson approached him slowly, "Listen, Shirogane, it's been a long time. Things change. And-"

"I know, I just-" He paused, "I just want a chance to get used to everything."

"Of course."

"Thank you, sir. I think I'll check out now, if possible." They'd been traveling for several weeks and he wasn't quite sure he actually slept since the 12th quintant in space. As Shiro left he couldn't help but want to track down Adam and try to talk to him again.

Though it wasn't until much later when he was called by Allura that he was even able to look around the new garrison; but then he had a much bigger concern. His arm.

Or rather: the new prosthetic.

Shiro struggled to open his eyes, wincing against the bright light in his eyes. He could see...

People standing over him, wearing...

_Masks?_

For a brief moment Shiro panicked, his mind rushed back to the Galra, to the clones. Was he the real one? How did he know? Where was-

"How are you feeling Shiro?" His thoughts were cut off by a familiar voice. He knew that voice, but from where. Then, a face came into view. Samuel.

And he remembered.

He was home, they were attaching-

"I'm happy to tell you we've successfully attached your new prosthetic arm." That.

"We just need to power it on and make any final adjustments." Samuel nodded to another doctor in the room.

The other doctor brought the second piece of the arm closer to him and handed it off to Samuel, "We've outfitted it with the most powerful energy source Earth has to offer. It's the closest we could get to mimicking a Balmera crystal's energy." Wait, just _closest_? How close exactly?

"It should generate enough power to operate most of it." Should? Most? What the heck does that mean?

"The remaining power will be drawn from your body's own electromagnetic field." Oh that _really_ didn't sound good.

He tried pulling on the sensation of connecting with the Lions, becoming a part of something completely separate from yourself. He could feel the pull of the wires within the arm and tested its movements. Sure it was a little weird that he didn't have an elbow but that was nothing compared to having both hands again. There was -

He screamed as a blinding pain shot through his shoulder from the prosthetic. He thrashed on the table as hands clamped down on his limbs. He wouldn't go back, never! He would never go back to the Galra, he'd sooner die than-

"Calm down, Shiro! You have to calm down! Shiro! Shiro!"

He heard the words echo through his head and suddenly he saw white. Or rather, the white of the ceilings in the Garrison Living Quarters. He saw himself and..

Adam.

Adam was here. And he was yelling. He was angry. Why? He couldn't remember. Oh god, he couldn't remember.

"Takashi!" That was him, Adam was yelling at _him_, "How important am _I_ to you!"

"Adam..."

"Every mission! Every drill! I've been right there with you!

"I know that, Adam. But I-"

"But this is more than a mission! This is your life at stake!"

"Don't start that again, Adam! You don't need to protect me! This is something I need to do for myself."

"There's nothing left for you to prove! You've broken every record there is to break!" Here, Adam paused. Here, something changed, not quite so much, and it was easy to miss, but _something_ changed.

He started again, "I know I can't stop you... but I won't go through this again."

"What?" It was more of a breath than a word or a question but Shiro asked it nonetheless.

"So, if you decide to go..."

"Don't expect me to be here when you get back."

He knocked slowly on Adam's door, not expecting to see Adam answer it directly. There was that same flash of hardness that passes over Adam's features, like locks clicking into place.

"Adam, I'd like to talk with you." He had to know, "Please." he tack it on in an attempt to be more formal, or nicer.

"Sure, come in." Adam stepped aside to give him space. "I'll make some tea."

So there Shiro sat, 15 minutes later, staring into a warm cup of tea.

"So-" Adam started to say something, if only to break the sheer awkwardness when he was interrupted by Shiro.

"What changed between us, Adam?" He look up to make eye contact with Adam, seeing his glasses fog up from the steam of his own tea.

Adam noticed as well and took the glasses off to clean them, "Everything, I believe." He put the glasses back on, "After all, it's been six years for me."

"Yes, but I-" Shiro tried and failed to find the right words. I'm still in love with you. I thought _we_ were in love.

"If you want the ring back, I can get it for you." Shiro paused at Adam's words, taking a second to look down at his own hand.

The tan line had long since faded or been destroyed in space, if not taken from him in Galran Arena; but Adam's... He looked to Adam's hand, there was still a ring there, and yet, like most things these days, there was something off about it.

Adam caught his line of sight and looked down as well, "It's not yours if that's what you're wondering."

Shiro's head nearly snapped up to stare at Adam, "What's.." He struggled with the words, "What's his name?"

"Curtis."

"Have you decided when yet?"

"Shiro, I-" Adam saw the look on Shiro's face and stopped his rebuttal short, "We never got the chance to, not with all the Galra."

"I'm sorry."

Adam got up and walked over to a small dresser by the wall, opening a drawer and shuffling around in it, "Don't be. As much as we all wish we could control this, we can't. This one's not your fault."

Shiro's shoulders dropped, "I know."

"You always were the self-sacrificing one, weren't you?" Shiro was surprised to see Adam's hand in front of his face. And in it... the simple golden ring.

"Listen," Adam paused as Shiro took the ring and stood up from the couch to meet his eyes, "I know for you it hasn't been as long, but I thought you were dead. I grieved at first, and then I tried to prove you were still alive, helped Pidge fake their records to get in the Garrison as a guy; but after that... I had to move on. And it'd probably be better if you did too."

Shiro stared into Adam's eyes, and for just a second, he saw those walls go down again. He saw his eyes soften and saw the truth behind them.

"I understand."

"Maybe it'd be better if you left. Curtis should be back soon and I'd rather you meet him on better terms. Yeah?"

"Yeah." Shiro moved to the door, the sensor opening it for him, but he paused in the doorway and looked back over his shoulder at Adam.

"What ever happened to us, Adam?"

"I told you didn't I?" Adam looked at him and gave a small smile.

"I told you I wouldn't be here when you got back."


End file.
